Easel bracket for ladders



Aug. 13, 1968 R. 0 BROWN EASEL BRACKET FOR LADDERS Filed March 2. 1967 INVENTOR. Ros/5m 0. BROWN Fig. 3

United States Patent 3,396,929 EASEL BRACKET FOR LADDERS Robert C. Brown, 7212 Kensington Drive, Indianapolis, Ind. 46226 Filed Mar. 2, 1967, Ser. No. 620,014 3 Claims. (Cl. 248-211) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An easel attachment for a ladder which is made of sheet metal and includes a single hook which engages the back of the side stile of the ladder. The attachment has another hook adjustably mounted thereon and engageable with the front of the side stile. An upwardly projecting hook is integral with the attachment for retaining screens, a bucket of paint or the like.

Background of the invention Field of the invention.The invention relates to a painters easel for ladders.

Description of the prior art.--A number of painters easels for supporting screens and the like are known in the art. Some of these devices are only appropriate for one size of ladder. Others of these devices are expensive to manufacture and are relatively complicated in construction. Still others of these devices must be bolted to the ladder upon which they are used and therefore cannot be quickly and easily mounted on and dismounted from the ladder. Such prior art devices are disclosed, for example, in US. Patents Nos. 2,398,617; 2,453,355; 2,451,020 and 2,565,014.

Summary of the invention This invention may include an easel attachment for ladders having steps and adapted for supporting a sash, screen or the like comprising an elongated piece of sheet metal including a vertical portion and a first horizontal portion bent at right angles to said vertical portion and extending in one direction from the top of said vertical portion, said piece further including a second horizontal portion located at one end of said piece and extending proximally opposite to said one direction and distally toward the other end of said piece and being adapted to hook onto the stile of the ladder, said vertical portion including an upwardly extending projection at the other end of said piece for retaining a screen or the like on said piece, and an adjustable hook secured to said vertical portion and adjustable toward and away from said second horizontal portion and having a hooking recess facing toward said second horizontal portion and adapted to hook onto the stile of the ladder.

One object of this invention is to provide an improved easel attachment for a ladder.

Another object of this invention is to provide' an easel attachment for a ladder which is adjustable for ladders of different sizes and which can, for example, be used on ladders having side stiles up to 3% wide and formed of either wood or aluminum.

A further object of this invention is to provide an easel attachment for a ladder which is inexpensive to manufacture and relatively uncomplicated in construction.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an easel attachment which does not have to be bolted to the ladder and can be quickly mounted and dismounted.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide an easel attachment which is stronger than presently available easel attachments.

Related objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stepladder having the easel attachment of the present invention mounted thereon.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section taken through one of the side stiles of the ladder of FIG. 1 and showing one of the easel attachment devices of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 2.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now more particularly to the drawing, there is illustrated a stepladder which has side stiles 11 and steps 12 mounted on the side stiles 11 so as to extend therebetween. The easel attachment of the present invention comes in a set of two easel attachment devices, one of which is the mirror image of the other. Since the two devices of the set are otherwise identical except for the fact that they are mirror images of one another, the attachment device 15 will be described as representative of the two devices 15 and 16.

The device 15 consists of an elongated piece 14 of sheet metal which includes a vertical portion 18 and a first horizontal portion 17 bent relative to the portion 18 and extending at right angles in one direction from the top of the vertical portion 18. The horizontal portion 17 acts to stiffen the elongated piece of sheet metal and also provides a surface upon which screens 20 can be supported. Since the primary force acting to bend the piece of sheet metal is the weight of the screen 20 (and also the weight of the bucket 21) and since these forces are acting downwardly, the fact that the portion 18 extends vertically provides the greatest amount of strength to the piece of sheet metal making up a portion of the attachment 15.

Integral with the portion 18 there is provided a second horizontal portion 22 of the piece 14 of sheet metal. The horizontal portion 22 is located at the end 25 of the piece 14 of sheet metal and has a proximal portion 26 which extends in the opposite direction from the vertical portion 18 as compared to the first horizontal portion 17. The horizontal portion 22 also includes a distal portion 27 which extends toward the other end 30 of the piece 14 of sheet metal. The portion 22 functions as a hook and is adapted to engage the rear portion 31 of the side stile 11 of the ladder.

At the forward end 30 of the piece of sheet metal 14 there is provided integral with the portion 18 an upwardly extending projection 31 which functions to retain the screen or the like on the piece 14. The vertically extending portion 18 rests upon a step 12 of the ladder as shown in FIG. 1. The hook 22 is caused to firmly engage the rearward portion 31 of the side stile 11 by reason of an adjustable hook 35 which comprises a further piece of sheet metal 36 including two parallel portions 37 and 38 which are connected by a perpendicular central portion 39.

The piece of sheet metal 35 is adjusted toward and away from the hook 22 and is adjusted also as to attitude by releasing a bolt 40 having a thumb nut 41. The bolt 40 extends through slots 42 and 45, the slot 42 being in the vertical portion 18 and the slot 45 being in the portion 37 of the piece 36 of sheet metal. It can be appreciated that by releasing the bolt 40 the piece of sheet metal 36 can be adjusted toward and away from the hook 22 and also can be repositioned as to angle or attitude so that the central portion 39 of the piece of sheet metal can bear directly against the front surface or portion 46 of the side stile 11. The bolt 40 is then retightened by means of the thumb screw 41 and, by reason of the fact that the piece of sheet metal 36 firmly engages the front side of the side stile, the hook 22 also firmly engages the side stile at the rear portion 31 thereof so as to firmly maintain the piece 14 of sheet metal horizontal with the bottom edge of the vertical portion 18 firmly engaged with the step 12 upon which the piece 14 is mounted.

It will be evident from the above description that the present invention provides an improved easel attachment for a ladder which is adjustable for ladders of different sizes. It will also be evident that the present invention provides an easel attachment which is inexpensive to manufacture and relatively uncomplicated in construction. It can also be appreciated that the easel attachment of the present invention does not have to be bolted to the ladder and can be quickly mounted and dismounted from the ladder. Furthermore, it will be evident that the easel attachment of the present invention is stronger than presently available easel attachments.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims are ing an elongated piece of sheet metal including a vertical portion and a first horizontal portion bent at right angles to said vertical portion and extending in one direction from the top of said vertical portion, said piece further including a second horizontal portion located at one end of said piece and extending proximally opposite to said one direction and distally toward the other end of said piece and being adapted to hook onto the stile of the ladder, said vertical portion including an upwardly extending projection at the other end of said piece for retaining a screen or the like on said piece, and an adjustable hook secured to said vertical'portion and adjustable toward and away from said second horizontal portion and having a hooking recess facing toward said second horizontal portion and adapted to hook onto the stile of the ladder.

2. The easel attachment of claim 1 wherein said adjustable hook is formed of a single piece of sheet metal and includes two parallel portions connected by a central perpendicular portion, one of said parallel portions having a slot therein, said vertical portion of said elongated piece of sheet metal having a slot therein which extends longitudinally thereof, and coupling means extending through said slots.

3. The easel attachment of claim 2 wherein said coupling means comprises a bolt having a wing nut thereon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 325,290 9/1885 Wardwell 2482 11 2,554,675 5/1951 Magnetti 248211 2,675,982 4/1954 Budy 248211 3,156,443 11/1964 Lupinacci 248211 JOHN PETO, Primary Examiner. 

